Not a real top tier show for '69, but does have a long, wonderful "second set" jam (like the night before, there may have been no set break). It's one of those shows where if you like the era you'll be more fascinated. Shows from '69 can be fairly interchangeable - unlike just a couple years later. And, though fairly consistent, is takes something special to really standout, like, say 2/27, 3/2 or 4/17.

First Set. Average '69 fare. Although this was already the 15th Dire Wolf, it's tentative and still not fully formed. Part of it is repeated and then Jer grabs it, 5:45 in, ready to lay some phrasing down. There's a cool part a minute later where the boys recognize he was going to add something. The middle of the set is above average with a swanky Easy Wind that takes a bit to gather steam. This is the seventh China>Rider pairing and they were starting to nail it. Both still have their '68 arrangements, just stuck together. High Time drops in clean. They performed this continually (beginning in summer '69) for about a year, then dropped it. This version was in the middle of its run, when they were working out harmonies and practicing the new material. By this month they have the harmonies pretty well covered but it's kind of a sparse, puzzled-sounding version. Merle Haggard's single of Mama Tried had been out less than a year when Bobby brought it to the band. Here Jer has the arrangement but hasn't fully fleshed it yet. The tight Good Lovin' is dance-band-Dead with a drum solo. This is the very first Cumberland and it's rough, like most early, not-road-tested Dead material. The playing is good, if tentative, but the vox aren't worked out yet. They don't really trainwreck; maybe because they're excited to bring out something new that they knew was good.

Second Set. Or second-set-like second half. It's cool there was a time when Dark Star was a set opener. Above average sandwich but not that unique for '69. A bit of Uncle John's Band emerges here (being tested for the third time, before written as a stand-alone). The section from William Tell through The Eleven is terrific: some of the tightest jamming of late '69. Dick's 16 breaks the tranny into Caution, but it's mostly rote/repetition. However in Caution itself there's a rare Main Ten - the third one (they were far apart). The rest is average '69.

1st Set:  C
2nd Set: B
Overall = 3 stars

Highlights:
China Cat>Rider - Plays like a hot Rider tacked onto an old school China Cat
St. Stephen (cannon)>The Eleven - jam gets better as it goes

SOURCES:
Made complete on Dick's 16 from what used to circulate (assumedly the main reason for official release). This SBD has the main jams but you will want the Rider, so...

A worthy purchase, if you're interested in supporting the band. The Lovelight on DP16 is from 11/7, which you can still stream here on the archive.

Set 1 - You might want to skip the 9:00 Dire Wolf, as the entire thing is played twice in the same song for some reason - there are plenty of great '70 versions that don't feel like the band is rehearsing in front of a live audience. The first Cumberland, unfortunately, suffers as well. But the rest of the set is very fine, very Pig-laden: his schoolgirl is now......er......13! (Ron, you baaaad) Good Lovin' has that oh-so-light jazzy touch to the jam, and Easy Wind is sooooooo slooooooow and stony - THIS is them tapping right into that psychedelic rhythm, and when Pig busts out the harp, well now - everything just seems just right.

Set 2 is rather beyond words - it's every bit as good as it appears to be; one long suite with that Dark Star "envelope" crossing over at various times, some new instrumentals tried out that later would develop into familiar tunes, and a really hot Caution meltdown - Dick was right on the money with this selection.

Love the UJB and Main Ten

Sweeeeeeeeeet'n'sloppy.